42-year-old woman has a bloodless heart operation

MUMBAI: A 42-year-old woman from Malad recently became one of the very few in the city, and probably in the country, to undergo a heart surgery without receiving a single drop of blood. Homemaker Meena Koli is a staunch follower of Jehovah's Witness, a Christian sect, who refuse any kind of blood transfusions.

Three months ago, the mother of three was diagnosed with severe mitral stenosis, a condition where the valve opens narrowly, restricting blood flow. This heart condition could be life-threatening as it affects the flow of blood between left chambers of the heart. But for Meena, a bigger concern was that the surgical procedure may force her to receive blood, something she did not want to do, even at the cost of her life. She also refused autologus blood transfusion in which the patient's blood is drawn, preserved and transfused back to her.

The heart condition used to make Meena breathless, so much so that she felt out of breath even when she would lie down. She agreed for the surgery but laid her condition of zero transfusion, which put the doctors of Platinum Hospital, Mulund, in a fix. "First, we thought it was very difficult and dangerous. Then we started working towards preparing her for the surgery," said Dr Bijoy Kutty, cardiac surgeon and medical director of the hospital.

Three months before the surgery, which finally took place last week, the doctors started boosting her haemoglobin levels in the blood. She was put on a daily dose of iron tablets as well as injected iron intravenously once a month. She was taken in for surgery when her haemoglobin levels were healthy enough to take a blood loss of at least 700ml equivalent to two units or bottles of blood.

Meena's husband Deepak said he was prepared for the worst, but in no way would he have compromised his belief. "I would not call it a religious obligation. I feel once we have lost blood, it is gone for ever and cannot be replaced," he said. He added that three years ago, Meena had also undergone balloon valvuloplasty but that was a non-invasive procedure. Deepak said this was the first time his religious belief caused a health dilemma in the family.

"The patient is recovering well, though the recovery is slow," said Kutty, adding that she took at least seven days more than what a normal patient would have taken.